Wire-splicer



J. O. MULLIGAN."

WIRE SPLICE'R.

APPLICATION FI'LED APR. 30, 1921.

Patented Sept. 20, 1921.

UNITED. STATES PATENT OFFICE."

JOSEPH- o. MULLIGAN, or McKEEs ROCKS. PENNSYLVANIA/.-

wmasmcm To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, JosEPn O. MULL'IGAN, a citizen-of the United States, residing at McKees Rocks in the county of Allegheny and State of lennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in lVire-Splicers, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings. 10

T hisinvention relates to improvements in wire splicers and more particularly to a splicer adapted for application to overhead rolley wires, the object of the invention being to provide a splicer of the above character which is adapted to be arranged between two wire ends and is made adjustable so that the slack in the wires may be readily taken up as desired.

An important object of the invention is to provide an improved structure of the nature of the structure disclosed in my prior Patent, Serial No. 1,099,390, patented June 9, 1914. These improvements consist, firstly, in providing the connection between the sections of the wire splicer whereby the conductivity between the two sections is not materially reduced; secondly, to provide a continuity of the trolley travel surface upon the splicer, and thirdly, to provide a more facile structure as regards adjustment to remove slack from the wires.

Another object of the invention is to provide a wire splicer of the above character which, while presenting advantages and points of efliciency and durability, is inexpensive to manufacture and at the same time simple in construction and operation.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel features of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter more fully described, claimed and shown in the accompanying drawings in which,

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a wire splicer constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof showing the wires attached thereto;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an end elevation thereof; and

Fig. 5 is an end elevation thereof looking from the opposite end of the device.

' Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the numerals 10 and 11 indicate splicer sections, the section 10 being pro- Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Sept; 20,1921. Application nled'a r'n 30,1951] Serial No. 465,899.

vided upon the inner end thereof-er that endinext'adjacent the section 11, with ancitension or a tongue 12 substantial'lyjrectangular in form and having-broad, flat side faces. This tongue enters into a bore or cavity 13- formed in the adjacent end of the sec tion 11 and extending longitudinally" there'- of. The tongue is" adjustable "within the bore 13' and may beheld in adjusted position by means of the set-screw 14 extending through theside Wall of the member 11 to engage the tongue and force the'sainefirinl' into engagement with the opposite side we 1 thereof in order that a' very firm" contact may be had between'the tongue 12 and the section 11. The sections 10 and 11 are, as will be obvious, formed of conducting material. Each of the sections 10 and 11 has extending upwardly therefrom a lug 15, the lugs being provided with alined bores which are oppositely screw-threaded for the reception of the oppositely screw-threaded ends of an adjusting member 16. The adj usting bolt or member 16 is provided with a polygonal portion 17 adapted for the reception of a wrench whereby it may be rotated to adjust the members 10 and 11 toward or away from one another. The outer ends of each of the conductors 10 and 11 are provided with longitudinal grooves 18 in their under faces which are adapted to communicate with openings 19 extending upwardly from the grooves 18 at an angle of approximately 45 and in which are arranged the ends of the trolley wires as indicated at 20. The trolley wires are held securely in position by means of the set-screws 21 which are threaded in openings formed in each of the beveled ends of the conductor at right angles to openings 19.

The grooves 18 are of a depth such that the bottom portions 22 of the sections 10 and section 10, as indicated at 23, so as to pro vide a continuous surface to shift the trolley wheel from the bottom 22 of the section 11 to the bottom of the blade 12 or of the section 10, or vice versa, the bottom of the section 11 at that end thereof adjacent the section 10, or the inner end thereof, being curved upwardly so that it forms substan- 7 through the wall of the bored section into tially a knife edge with the bore 13. It will be seen that the trolley wheel will ride smoothly over the surface thus formed, and

that the blade 12, positioned as described,

, of some change in modification without de-' 10 parting from the spirit of my invention, and I accordingly do not limit myself to the specific structure hereinbefore set forth except as hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. In a trolley wire splicer, relatively shiftable sections adapted for engagement with the ends of a trolley wire, one of said sections havin a longitudinal bore, means for shifting sai l sections toward and away from one another, a flat blade carried by one of the sections and fitting into the bore formed to the other section, and means extending the bore and engaging the blade for preventing shifting of the sections without the operation of the shifting means. I

2. In a trolley wire splicer, a pair of relatively shiftable sections, one of which is provided with a longitudinal bore, means for connecting the ends of trolley wires to said sections, a flat elongated blade secured to one of the sections and adapted for slidable movement into the bore of the other section and'to hold said sections in alinement vertically and laterally, a set-screw threaded into one wall of the bored section and passing into the bore, said set-screw adapted to engage the blade and force the same solidly into engagement with the opposite wall of the section, and means for relatively adjusting the sections when the set-screw is released from the blade.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my v signature.

JOSEPH o. MULLIGAN. 

